1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to telephone cords and more specifically to improvements in self winding reels for tape containing conductors for a telephone hand piece or for electronic and electrical components with similar scope.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Telephone handset or handpiece cords have typically been provided in spirals so they may be stretched out for use with the flexibility of the spiraled cord permitting it to retract partially to a more manageable length when not in use. These cords, however, readily become twisted and tangled. To overcome the disadvantages of these conventional telephone cords, retractable cord devices have been proposed. One such device is U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,987, issued to Peterson.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,987 discloses tape containing communication conductors for the automatic rewinding of a cable on a reel rotated by a coil spring positioned within a bore disposed in the reel. Though the Peterson device overcomes some of the problems of conventional telephone cords, the device provides additional drawbacks in conjunction with the use of the device. The position of the preloaded return coil spring has various disadvantages, particularly during the rewind of the cable on the reel due to the bending of the supporting pin, avoiding the cable to wound completely from reduced spring force.
Thus, what is needed in the art is a cable device which allows a predetermined amount of cable to drawn out from either end, to reach the desired length and when the handset is returned to its base or support the cable will automatically and completely retract inside the housing or casing of the device. It is, therefore, to the effective resolution of the aforementioned problems and shortcomings that the present invention is directed.